Clothes-line holder



A. CAMP-BELL.

CLOTHES LINE HOLDER.

No. 585,951.- Patented July 6, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

ALBERT CAMPBELL, OF SHADE GAP, PENNSYLVANIA.

CLOTHES-LINE HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 585,951, dated July 6,1897.

Application filed March 27, 1897. Serial No, 629,565. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Shade Gap,I-Iuntingdon county, State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Line Holders;and my preferred manner of carrying out the invention is set forth inthe following full,

clear, and exact description, terminating with claims particularlyspecifying the novelty.

This invention relates to devices for supporting an endless line, andmore especially to such as are used for maintaining a clothesline at asuitable height above the ground in order to permit the wash to be hungthereon; and the object of the same is to effect certain improvements inthe construction of such devices.

To this end the invention consists in the specific details ofconstruction described and claimed below and as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a general perspective viewof the device in use, showing a section of a brick wall as serving asone of the supports. Fig. 2 is a section through the inner wheel,showing its bracket in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a detail showing amodified manner of forming the feet at the outer ends of the arms. Fig.4 is a similar view of another modification.

In the said drawings the letters S S designate supports, as posts risingfrom the ground, and S is a section of a wall, or it may be a shed orother suitable building or article which can serve for one or bothsupports. To this is attached by bolts, nails, or screws N N a bracketB, having projecting from its face two threaded rods R R, as seen.

F F designate, respectively, the upper and lower arms of a framework,made preferably of light strap-iron or other metal, and of which theupper extends from the upper rod obliquely downward, While the lowerextends about straight outward, and has in its body an elbow E, formedbya downward bend and then an outward bend, so that the outer end ofthis arm shall pass just under the outer and lower end of the upper arm.Each .of the arms at its inner end is turned at right angles to the rodR and provided with an eye passing over it, and the lower arm is heldagainst outward movement by a nut f, while the upper is held by nuts fand f on opposite sides of its angular inner end. It will be ob- Viousthat by adjusting these nuts the entire framework can be set nearer toor farther from its support and fastened in its adjusted position for apurposeto appear below.

WV W are respectively the inner and outer wheels, which are constructedalike, and hence a description of one will suffice for both. Each iscomposed of a rather thick center, from which radiate thinner arms A,thus producing hubs H at the center" above and below the plane of thearms, and this hub is pierced with an upright axial hole, through whichpasses a vertical pivotal bolt V. The head of the latter stands upon theouter end or footof the upper arm F of the frame, and the shank of thebolt passes thence downward through holes in this foot and in that ofthe lower arm F, then through a washer w, then the hub, then anotherwasher to, and finally receives its nut n and, if desired, a jam-nut vto prevent the undesirable loosening of the first nut. Thus the boltVserves at once to clamp the feet of the arms F F together and to form abearing on which the wheel IV rotates freely, and the nut 12 is beneath,where it is within ready reach of the operator. The outer Wheel WV ismounted in the same manner with its hub between two washers on the shankand under the head of another bolt (or screw) V, which, as shown, entersthe upper end of an outer post forming the support for the farther endof the endless clothes-line L. IVhen the inner support is a wall S", thebracket B may be attached thereto adjacent a window, and the furthersupport might be another wall on the opposite or further side of a smallcourt or yard, and in that case the operator could lean out her window,attach the wash to the line, move the latter one step, attach subsequentpieces, and so on until both sides of the line were full, for it will beobserved that the pins pass easily around the curved feet 0 at the outerends of the arms A.

Each wheel may be stamped from a single piece of sheet metal, with thehubs applied later, as by soldering or otherwise, or it could be cast,if desired. In Figs. 3 and at I have shown modifications whereby thefeet might be formed at the outer end of the sheet-metal arms A withoutcasting; but it is to be understood that these views illustrate only twoof a number of ways in which this might be done. In Fig. 3 the arm A isout through on the line A in the act of stamping, so as to produce twotongues, each half the width of the arm at its outer end. Subsequentlyeach tongue is bent first in one direction, as at a, and then sharplyback on itself in the other direction, as at a, and the two tongues arebent in opposite directions, as seen. This produces a small fold at theneck of each tongue, and the two folds, by projecting in oppositedirections, lap each other, so that the line L has a smooth surface onwhich to rest in passing around the foot. In Fig. 4 the sheet-metal armA is stamped with the foot 0 at its outer end, as shown, andsubsequently given a quarter-twist, as at Q, whereby the body of the armstands in a horizontal plane, but the foot 0 in a vertical, and as itsouter edge is curved or dished it also presents a curved surface, whichwill retain the rope or line.

In use the supports are found or provided, the bracket attached to one,the eyes of the frame slipped over the rods of the bracket, and the nutsapplied. The holes in the feet of the frame-arms are then alined, thebolt passed downward through them, the hub of the inner wheel passedupward onto the bolt with washers at each side of it, and finally thenuts applied thereto. The outer wheel is then similarly mounted onanother support, (which may have a bracket and frame like the first ormay be simply a post, as shown in Fig. 1,) and finally the endlessclothes-line L is applied, passing around the curved feet like a beltaround its wheels. The nuts f, f and f are then adjusted so that theline shall be sufficiently tight, and the whole is ready for thewasherwomans use in amanner which will be clear.

While I do not confine myself to the pre cise details of constructionillustrated and described, I consider them the best to be used incarrying out the general idea; still many changes in and muchelaboration of the invention is possible without losing sight of theprinciple. I consider the hubs advantageous, because in long use thewashers are apt to get lost, and at any rate there will be considerablewear at the ends and through the bore of the hub, and if it be madequite thick this is resisted without the necessity for making it ofharder metal, which is an expensive detail. I also consider the jamnut1; essential, especially when its bolt serves to hold the arms of theframework together, for otherwise the tendency would be to set the nutL' so tight that the wheel W would not revolve freely. The elbow E inthe frame is obviously to permit the passage under it of the heads ofthe clothes-pins, and yet the outer end of the frame be as low asnecessary. Curved feet are also necessary, and my preferred manner ofmaking them from sheet metal illustrates how the cost of the whole canbe reduced to a minimum.

WVhat is claimed as new is- 1. In a clothes-line holder, the combinationwith a support, an upright bracket attached thereto, and two threadedrods projecting horizontally from the bracket one above the other; of aframework consisting of two arms each having a vertical inner endperforated and passed over one of said rods, nuts on the latter againstsuch perforated ends, the upper arm leading obliquely downward and thelower arm leading outward, then downward in an elbow, and then outwardagain beneath the upper arm, and both having openings in their outerends, and an upright bolt passing through said openings; a wheeljournaled on the lower end of said bolt, a remote wheel, and a linepassing around both wheels, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a clothes-line holder, the combination with two supports, boltscarried thereby, and an endless line; of two wheels, each journaled onits bolt and comprising fiat radial arms and each arm having two tonguesat its outer extremity, one tongue being bent downward and then sharplyupward on itself and curved outward, and the other tongue beingoppositely and similarly bent so that the two tongues form a curved footat the outer end of each arm, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my signature on this the26th day of March, A. D. 1897.

ALBERT CAMPBELL.

YVitnesses:

O. B. ZEIGLER, R. MONTGOMERY.

